Let’s start with the elephant in the room. The big, loud, stinking elephant that has been pretty much been stomping all over the NBA season as we make the turn, one-quarter of the way through.

That would be, of course, the Los Angeles Lakers, the team that has dominated conversation about this young NBA season even before it was in its infancy, way back in July.

That was when the Lakers pulled a fast one on the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks, who were vying for point guard Steve Nash, by sneaking in and making a stealth offer to Nash, who accepted. The Lakers then ended what seemed like a decade of speculation and drama a month later by finally working out a deal to acquire Dwight Howard, and, with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol already in place, the Lakers had put together what would surely be a Legion of Doom for the rest of the league.

Oh, but what follies have followed! The result: No one’s happy.

Mike Brown brought in Eddie Jordan and his Princeton offense, which is difficult on defenses but also proved difficult on the brains of Lakers players. No one was happy with Jordan or Brown, and both were ousted.

Then no one was happy with the front office of Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss after they contacted Lakers legend Phil Jackson, who was ready to return before the Lakers told him, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Jackson was particularly miffed when the Lakers hired Mike D’Antoni instead, because as Jackson sees it D’Antoni is a rube who is not fit to carry Jackson’s intellectual duffel bag.

Nash played one game before he was injured, so he’s not happy. No one is happy with his backup, Steve Blake, who underwent abdominal surgery and may be out until February. Howard still can’t make free throws, so he is not happy and no one is happy with him. Gasol isn’t happy with his limited role in D’Antoni’s offense, and Bryant isn’t happy with Gasol for whining about it.

And the Los Angeles Clippers are light years better than the Lakers right now. So at least someone connected to pro basketball in LA is happy at the moment. As for the rest of the league, it has been a strange quarter-season to this point.

Quarter-pole awards

MVP: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder. There are four obvious contenders for the top-player honors this year: reigning MVP LeBron James, Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, Clippers point guard Chris Paul and Durant. Currently, Durant holds the edge because his numbers have been astounding—he is averaging career highs in shooting, rebounding, assists and blocks—and because his team has been able to be one of the best in the NBA even after losing a star like James Harden.

Rookie: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard has been every bit the high-scoring point guard scouts projected ahead of last year’s draft, and with the New Orleans Hornets’ Anthony Davis suffering a pair of early injuries, Lillard has the inside track on the award. He is averaging 18.4 points, but, more impressive, he is also playing 37.9 minutes per game.

Sixth Man: Kevin Martin, Oklahoma City Thunder. Martin just gets the edge over the Clippers’ Jamal Crawford because of the way he has shot the 3-pointer (47.9 percent) and the way he has meshed with his new team in a bench role.

Defensive Player: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies. Love the defense that Tony Allen brings to the perimeter for the Grizzlies, but Gasol’s evolution as a defensive player has been too long overlooked around the league. He is the anchor down low for the league’s best defense.

Coach: Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs. He may have irked the commissioner and certain columnists around the NBA, but Popovich has the Spurs—even with a spate of injuries—atop the league again. There are plenty of worthy candidates here, but Popovich deserves more credit than he receives.

Reality checks

Some unexpected teams have gotten off to good first-quarter starts. We check in with NBA scouts to see which ones have staying power.

New York Knicks. East scout: “I don’t think they’re the best team in the East, that’s Miami. And by the end of the year, you know Boston is going to get back into the picture in that division. But bringing in Jason Kidd has been an underrated move. He gives them a lot of stability, he can play multiple positions and he is a champion. Having him and (Tyson) Chandler there is big.”

Atlanta Hawks. East scout: “I don’t think they’re as good as their record. They have restructured their whole approach to get the ball to Al Horford more, and that’s a good thing. But they have a lot of guys playing over their heads a little bit. They’ll make the playoffs, but they’re not a real threat in the East.”

Golden State Warriors. West scout: “They should still be worried about the playoffs. They play a very young rotation. If they get (Andrew) Bogut back and can have him play defense, they will definitely be a playoff team. But they still have too many holes defensively.”

Memphis Grizzlies. West scout: “They play defense. That’s the thing with these guys. I like what they’ve done with their bench; they have a much better set of role players and everyone sort of fits in. They have the thing you need in the playoffs—guys who can create points when things are not going good. Rudy Gay can do that, Zach Randolph can do that, Jerryd Bayless can do that. That, with their defense, it makes them dangerous as a playoff contender.”

Beware of …

We asked scouts in each conference to pick teams that might be underachieving but could turn things around quickly.

Boston Celtics. They've hovered around .500 much of the year, sitting at 11-9. But the bench is getting itself together, starting with sixth man Jeff Green, who is averaging 16.0 points over his last five outings. The Celtics could get guard Avery Bradley back soon, which would send Jason Terry to the bench and allow Doc Rivers to finally set up the rotation he envisioned.

Indiana Pacers. Their offense has been a mess, and the Pacers have been in a team-wide slump. But one constant has been the defense, and as long as Indiana maintains that, the scoring should come around. They will need a scorer off the bench—preferably Gerald Green (38.1 percent shooting) or D.J. Augustin (26.6 percent)—to snap out of the early-season funk.

Minnesota Timberwolves. Kevin Love is not nearly 100 percent, still trying to get the feel back in his hand. Point guard Ricky Rubio has yet to play but could debut this week. The Wolves have endured myriad injuries but have emerged at .500 and will be primed to go on a run once healthy.

Denver Nuggets. They were picked as a dark horse in the West by many, and in that sense, they are a disappointment. But they have also had a brutal schedule, playing 15 road games (with two more this week) and just six at home. The Nuggets’ roster is built to play high-intensity, pressure basketball, which takes advantage of the thin Denver air, but the Nuggets haven’t been able to exploit that. Yet.